"From this moment on, all personnel maintain formation and discipline. No unauthorized movement, especially outside the space I've constructed."
Standing within the confines of the Imaginary Barrier, his back to the golden light curtain, Michael addressed the newly arrived recruits with a grave expression.
"This isn't a joke, nor is it some drill. Most of you, if enveloped by that light curtain, will become as vulnerable as ordinary humans and die from internal energy disruption within hours. The only one capable of moving you rapidly is me, wielding the Authority over space."
Clearly, not everyone took the Honkai threat seriously.
Even as Michael repeatedly emphasized the danger of the light curtain, many faces still wore smiles brimming with confidence and disdain, as if the Honkai was nothing special.
This confidence was somewhat laughable, yet also an inevitable aspect of human nature. After undergoing the Meta-Morph surgery, they all felt they possessed power far exceeding mortals. Each believed they were the next Kevin Kaslana, the next Elysia, destined to save the world with their newfound strength.
This inflated sense of self was precisely what Michael had hoped to temper through training and integration over time. He'd hoped that by witnessing the power displayed by Elysia and himself, they would soberly realize how insignificant their own abilities truly were.
Especially in the face of the Herrscher before them, such power was utterly trivial.
But now, Michael finally understood Himeko's sentiments—confidence and arrogance stemmed from the same root, separated by a hair's breadth. Confidence could easily morph into arrogance, yet arrogance could also sustain morale as a form of confidence.
He had already said enough discouraging words. Saying more might genuinely damage their morale.
Besides, it was unnecessary.
If one were to list the most difficult tasks in the world, convincing another person would definitely rank high.
Everyone holds beliefs they cling to steadfastly. Trying to change them with mere words is a fool's errand.
Better to let reality do the talking.
So, Michael fell silent, letting the new recruits chatter amongst themselves.
Their individual voices were soft, but the combined murmur of over two thousand people was somewhat grating.
Michael waved a dismissive hand, no longer bothering with the rookies. Instead, he beckoned over several familiar MANTISes, including Evangeline.
He deliberately led them a short distance away from the recruits before erecting another Imaginary Barrier, lowering his voice.
"My earlier description of this light curtain was somewhat exaggerated... well, actually... the truth is, when you MANTISes enter the barrier created by this light curtain, a small fraction might die instantly. But most will simply feel their internal energy still flowing, yet find themselves unable to use it, or only able to access a tiny portion."
"Then what are we waiting for? If we won't necessarily die, we should charge in right now and rescue Dr. Mei!" Evangeline declared without hesitation.
Kosma seemed tempted, but Dystopia suddenly gripped his hand. Startled, the words of agreement died in his throat.
"That won't be necessary," Michael shook his head, speaking again before Evangeline could interject.
"First, we need to clarify our objectives. We need to rescue Dr. Mei, and we need to defeat the Eleventh Herrscher. Which takes priority? I think we all know the answer. Fortunately, whether defeating the Eleventh Herrscher or rescuing a potentially still-alive Dr. Mei, we need to resolve the issue of the light curtain. Therefore, our goals align."
"Oh my, are you planning to break through this light curtain? Hmm, hmm, so, how do we do that? Or rather... is it even possible? Prometheus already uploaded the data from your Void Lance attack on the curtain. If even you couldn't break it, then whether we can open a breach from the outside is questionable," Elysia chimed in smoothly after he finished, preempting Evangeline once more.
"Step one: I will use my own methods to attempt opening a breach in the light curtain. Then, I'll engage in a contest of strength with the Eleventh Herrscher. During this process, the curtain's expansion should stabilize. After that, we select one hundred volunteers from the new recruits to enter the barrier and search for Dr. Mei."
"Is it that simple?"
"What else?" Michael spread his hands. "However, the method I'll employ doesn't guarantee a proportional drain of my energy versus the Herrscher's. There will be losses due to energy conversion, not to mention the barrier itself suppresses and disrupts conventional energy to some extent. I'll need Honkai Energy support from Ely and all of you. Even so, we can only guarantee the opening stays open for about three days."
"To be precise, just over sixty-nine hours, roughly three hours short of three days," Prometheus No. 17 silently added from the side.
"Ahem!" Michael cleared his throat twice.
"Therefore, the maximum search time is forty hours. If Mei's location isn't found within forty hours, or if communications cannot confirm her survival, the search must be immediately abandoned. All personnel must withdraw outside the barrier to proceed with the next phase of the operation. Any questions on this point?"
This time, even Evangeline, suspected by some to be an individual manifestation of the Tenth Herrscher, remained silent.
But ultimately, someone still had a different opinion:
"Um... sigh!"
Michael turned his head. Kosma was squinting, lips pressed tightly together, as if the sound hadn't come from him at all. Dystopia quietly moved the foot she'd been stepping on his with, but lost her balance slightly, leaning sideways.
Kosma hastily caught her arm, steadying her.
The scene... made it hard for Michael not to recall... himself and Elysia in the past.
He blinked, turning away, choosing to ignore the opinion Kosma had swallowed back down.
[Why did Dystopia stop me? Does everyone just assume Michael's plan is automatically correct? I believe in him too, but I think I have a better solution. Shouldn't I suggest it? Isn't it possible Michael overlooked my idea?]
However, Kosma wasn't willing to let it go. Before Michael could outline the next step, ignoring Dystopia's attempts to stop him, he mustered his courage and spoke again:
"I have a question!"
Michael closed his eyes slightly, letting out a soft hum through his nose.
"Speak."
"Why... I mean, could I use the power of Vishnu to try and devour that light curtain?"
Devouring the light curtain – it certainly sounded like a good idea, at first glance.
But the world operates on exchange; to gain something, a price must be paid. Devouring a barrier constructed by a Herrscher was beyond the capabilities of a MANTIS in their normal state.
Undoubtedly, Kosma wanted to unleash that power, the one Mobius had granted all MANTISes during the second round of surgeries after studying Michael's own overwhelming Meta-Morph during the Seventh Honkai Eruption—
[Artificial Honkai Collapse]
But... only Kevin had ever partially unleashed this power, against the Ninth Herrscher, and even then, only with Michael backing him up using the Authority of Sentience. Whether one could maintain sanity after truly entering the Collapse state, and whether they could return to normal afterwards as Mobius guaranteed...
Even Michael wasn't entirely sure.
Furthermore, could Vishnu, which claimed to devour everything, even dreams, truly devour this light curtain?
Whether it could was the second question.
The third problem was that devouring inherently meant touching the curtain. Unlike Herrschers who might be instantly annihilated upon entry, most MANTISes wouldn't necessarily die or faint instantly upon contact. It wasn't even clear if the damage sustained would be irreversible, but...
Judging by the effects when Theresa deployed her Elysion Pedion Barrier... it was definitely not harmless.
Kosma himself should have been well aware of the second point, and Michael had repeatedly emphasized the other two.
Yet he remained resolute. At least, he felt this was what a [Hero] should do—step forward bravely when needed most.
Even if... even if fear gradually crept through his consciousness, every cell in his body screaming resistance, to the point where his mind briefly hallucinated—*[I don't want this! Why did I have to step up now!]*
To the point where the muscles in his strained neck began to stiffen and go numb, threatening to make his entire jaw tremble.
But he clamped down hard on his back teeth, unwilling to let Michael see his fear.
Michael bit his lip, chuckled softly, and turned his amused gaze back to the boy.
His eyes were different now. When Kosma first met his gaze, he was naturally flustered, but he quickly composed himself—
[Did I say something stupid again... Okay, Michael probably already considered this. I shouldn't have spoken up... Ah well, Michael won't mind. He'll probably explain patiently. Dystopia's going to tease me about this for who knows how long though...]
Michael's expression quickly softened, though only for an instant before he looked away again.
Honestly, he had once been indifferent to this withdrawn boy; his perpetually blank face made him hard to read.
And Michael rarely got to see the occasional display of his chuunibyou side.
But in that moment just now, Michael clearly saw something in him.
A hero like Kevin? Or was he gradually overlapping with the Kosma from Michael's memories?
No, Michael definitely saw something in him, but it wasn't the shadow of anyone else. It was...
The self Michael once aspired to be.
"Good question. However, Kosma."
"Uh... Yes!"
"My plan doesn't exclude that possibility, but it's practically the last resort."
"Ah... Oh..."
"However..."
[Knew it. Couldn't escape the 'however', could I? Sigh...]
Kosma looked up, still seeing only Michael's back.
"Assuming things truly reach that point, there would be no need for you to unleash the power of Vishnu. After all, you're not the only one fused with Vishnu's factors. At least, this time..."
The following words became too quiet for even his MANTIS hearing to catch.
Only Elysia, standing closest... or perhaps, he hadn't actually spoken them aloud, and Elysia had merely perceived his thoughts through their shared Herrscher consciousness:
"At least no one will die before I do."
He quickly shook his head, though even he didn't know why.
One thing was certain—
This was definitely not the habitual self-deprecation of the past.
Or perhaps, it was a kind of negation, but not directed at his current self.
"Any other objections? If not, let's begin!"
One hundred volunteers were finally selected from the new recruits, albeit with difficulty, and divided into ten teams.
The difficulty arose because the vast majority had volunteered to enter the barrier, either not taking Michael's warnings seriously or dismissing them as exaggerations.
Michael raised his hands level before him, palms facing the seemingly sacred yet perilous golden light curtain.
Elysia naturally placed a hand on his shoulder. Su placed his hand on the other. Then more joined, hand-in-hand, channeling every iota of Honkai Energy from their non-quite-human bodies forward, pouring it into Michael's Core.
"Hmm... Taking in this much energy at once, it feels like even the core's output threshold is being stretched... Still not enough, though. Looks like expansion can only happen through Metamorphosis for now..."
He was merely mimicking Bronya's actions back in Kolosten. It seemed it offered little benefit to a Herrscher like him, whose core synchronization was almost perfect after Metamorphosis.
"Doesn't matter..."
"Michael, the light curtain's diameter is approaching two hundred kilometers," No. 17 reminded him.
This was the optimal firing time they had agreed upon.
After all, a Herrscher's energy output is finite. As the barrier expanded, its intrinsic strength was actually decreasing.
"Now!"
"SELENE, thirty-six-fold power array, begin construction—"
Before him stood thirty-six quantum cannons, each centered around a SELENE engine. They were arranged into six basic matrix arrays, which in turn combined into a single super-matrix.
At first glance, they appeared unremarkable—merely dozens of times larger than standard quantum cannons.
But only Michael knew their true power.
"Begin charging—"
All SELENE engines simultaneously flared with blue light.
"Three—Two—One—"
"Fire!"
There was no sound of explosion—only a beam of light, so blindingly white that everyone's vision was momentarily plunged into darkness.
Then, the golden light curtain shattered with a pop, revealing a massive breach.
"Time to enter the barrier! Hurry up, everyone!" Elysia called out over her shoulder, supporting Michael.
But Michael gently pushed her hand away. Though the blast had drained his core entirely of Honkai Energy, it didn't mean he was too weak to stand unassisted.
He had already begun drawing vast amounts of energy from the Imaginary side. The SELENE engines, barely extinguished, flared blue once more. The cannons pivoted into position, aiming to widen the breach further—challenging the Eleventh Herrscher to a direct contest of strength.
But just as the recruits were about to charge into the barrier, a streak of red light shot back along the path carved by the energy beam, landing scant inches from Michael's feet in the blink of an eye.
The Cleaver of Shamash, still faintly warm, rested almost touching his boots. His pupils constricted slightly. In that instant, his brain processed information at a speed rivaling, perhaps even surpassing, Prometheus's.
Where his eyes couldn't see, his spatial Authority had already traced the origin, tearing open a rift within the barrier. The next moment, Kevin emerged from the spatial tear, supporting Mei with one hand and dragging Kalpas by the ankle with the other.
"Kevin, are you alright?"
He was so weak he nearly collapsed. Mei instantly crumpled to the ground as well. Su and Elysia rushed to support each of them.
As for Kalpas...
The man renowned for his overwhelming, ostentatious power had fallen into a deep slumber.
For him, this might have been a first.
Some time passed, but no one else emerged from the spatial rift.
Ignoring the drain on his Authority from that last maneuver, Michael asked:
"That's it?"
"That's it..." Kevin replied, his voice low.
The barrier did more than nullify Honkai Energy—it disrupted and suppressed conventional energy flow as well.
Survival within it for more than an hour was nearly impossible for an ordinary person.
Mei could only be called exceptionally lucky.
And in those few short seconds, the shattered light curtain rapidly repaired itself, looking identical to before from a distance.
Furthermore, seemingly sensing a power of the [Same Origin], the light curtain began expanding rapidly once more.
"Tch."
Michael gritted his teeth. The space occupied by the two thousand-plus people shifted instantaneously, reappearing another five kilometers away. However, the Herrscher seemed relentless this time—
Countless gears surged from the light curtain, appearing like mechanical constructs yet flowing like an ocean tide.
Fortunately, the gears stopped advancing after covering about three kilometers, seemingly reaching the Herrscher's limit. But soon, the light curtain flowed past this line, resuming its expansion.
"Thank you..."
Though it was still spring, fine beads of sweat had formed on Mei's forehead due to metabolic disruption from the conventional energy interference. She wiped them with her lab coat sleeve, her multi-colored eyes glancing around, seemingly grasping the situation instantly.
She stated without reservation: "The Tenth and Eleventh Honkai Eruptions... they're happening simultaneously."
"Mm," Michael hummed noncommittally, then shook his head.
"No matter. I told you I was prepared for the Eleventh Honkai. Of course, I think..."
He didn't speak the last few words, but Mei, having seen Evangeline, understood everything.
"You mean, use that?"
"Yes. At this point, the only thing capable of breaking this barrier is the Blank Key."
Evangeline watched them from the corner of her eye, her mind racing.
"But its completion rate is less than seventy percent. Vill-V and I need a secluded place for the final experiments. The base is too vulnerable to infiltration by the Tenth Herrscher now."
"Then... let's go there. In the meantime, I'll use the SELENE to continuously engage the Herrscher in a [Contest of Strength] just like before, keeping the barrier from expanding. But I can only maintain that for less than three days... Evangeline."
"Here!"
Michael turned his head, struggling to keep his expression neutral as he gave the order: "Kevin will take you and some other MANTISes, along with Aldemir, on a protection detail. Kevin is temporarily weakened, so you will assume command for now. Dr. Mei will brief you on the specific mission details later. Understood?"
"Yes!"
Mei nodded. "There's no time to waste. Let's go?"
"Mm..."
Evangeline took a couple of steps, then suddenly turned back.
"Captain Michael, if... if Dr. Mei's experiment fails... the Eleventh Herrscher..."
"Don't worry," Michael smiled faintly.
"I told you, I have a way..."
He then lowered his voice, yet spread his hands with an air of nonchalance.
"Since this is a barrier formed by a Herrscher, it must have an output threshold. We know its ability is to restrict Honkai Energy. So... we just need to keep throwing MANTISes into it until that threshold is overwhelmed, right?"